“It caters to a small % of players, and those players find it meaningful if that’s the power fantasy they want. To cite the best example, in Fallout 1, I think it’s pretty ego-boosting to point out the flaws in your adversaries’ master plan so much that he suicides after talking to you. I really can’t be more of a talking badass than that. It is difficult to implement a speech/sneak path, and the main obstacles to it are many, so here’s my opinion on how to approach it:

The speech path should present more than a skill check challenge – there needs to be some other obstacle associated with it. I usually veer toward exploring conversations (asking about back history, reading lore, discovering evidence to a criminal case), exploring the environment (discovering an enemy encampment, learning a secret path into a fortress, discovering a rival caravan is already sending an emissary to scout a new trade route), or being able to draw logical connections between two topics…

Obsidian has a rule in quest design that any non-violent path has to have a reward that’s comparable to killing and looting everyone in the scenario, and has similar repercussions. Whether this is XP bonus greater than killing the opponent, alignment shifts, barter rewards, or whatever, speech-defeating someone can’t yield you less in the long run than it would if you killed everyone. Often, it can yield more if you’re patient… or if you decide to shoot the person in the face after you verbally crushed them. In some ways, it could be considered a speech bribe. I’ll be honest, KOTOR2 was a huge speech bribe as well – once people figured out that’s how you could make Jedi or Sith from characters by interacting with them, suddenly there’s a lot more incentive in getting to know your allies and playing the influence game. I will say this doesn’t always work (I’ve seen YouTube footage where people simply rapidfire through the FNV DLC1 Dead Money conversations just looking to mine the XP awards, which makes me die a little inside – but hey, it’s more than they would otherwise).”

So, Avellone notes a couple of key problems with modern approaches to diplomacy in games. It’s mostly skill-check–do you have a high enough stat? rather an inference, and the structure of dialogue as a mechanic in games (XP rewards and all) devolves conversations into just another impersonal way to farm experience.

It’s interesting, too, that he calls it another form of ‘Power Fantasy’ especially within the context of Fallout , a franchise that has multiple instances where one can convince an adversary to suicide via dialogue. Normally I associate combat-heavy games to adhere to a power fantasy ideal, but he’s right, diplomatic solutions are no different. Silver tongues turn you into a sly trickster, capable of convincing people to downright eat their newborns if it came down to it.

“All Roads introduces the world of New Vegas, a town of dreamers and desperados being torn apart by warring factions vying for complete control of this desert oasis, and a tells an intriguing tale of loyalty and violence that leads right up to the beginning of the game.

Created in conjunction with Dark Horse Comics and written by Chris Avellone, the game’s senior designer, All Roads is tightly integrated into the story of New Vegas, even containing clues to in-game missions for the sharp-eyed reader. Artists Jean Diaz (Incorruptible) and Wellinton Alves (Shadowland: Blood on the Streets, Nova) and cover artist Geof Darrow (Hard Boiled, The Matrix, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot) offer their stunningly interpretation the world of New Vegas.”

Yes, the notorious “definitive ending” will be back for New Vegas. I know, you’re bummed that you can’t just keep roaming the wastes after the ending. Well, you’re gonna have to do your waste-roamin’ before you finish the game: there’s no turning back, and seemingly no plans for Broken-Steel like DLC to erase that definitive ending. Why? Let John Sawyer, project director, explain:

“We want to make it a definitive ending. Initially, we talked about trying to support post-game play, but because the changes that can happen at the end of the game are pretty major, this is what it basically came down to: either have the changes feel really major in the end slides and then have them not be very major after the end of the game, or make them really minor and not that impactful. And we feel it’s better to say, ‘you know what, we’re just going to end the game, and the changes you made can be minor or really really big, but because we can’t script all the changes to the Wasteland to let you keep playing, we’re just going to stop it there.’ But we do let the player know when that’s about to happen– a sort of, ‘the end of the game is coming, so we’re saving your game right now, so if you want to keep your game going, you can, otherwise, it’s about to be over.'”

“The title showcases the cast, locations in the game (including New Vegas), and provides more backstory on some of the major characters in the game. It leads right up to the opening movie of the game, and provides context for the initial set-up and the motivations for some of the major adversaries in the game” says Avellone, senior designer for New Vegas and author of All Roads.

“If you read the graphic novel, you’ll see the results of many of the events, locations, and fates of the characters in the comic in primary and secondary locations in the game – as well as characters you’ll encounter in these locations. You’ll have a glimpse of their motivations and struggles before you meet them, and it’ll give larger context to their actions and how to deal with them. If you’re careful in your exploration, you’ll even find some items they left behind as well – whether the characters are alive or dead.”

GameBanshee has an extensive–if not the most comprehensive–preview for Fallout New Vegas, which you should definitely read. Fear not, fellow internet traveler: we’ve got all the goods for you right here, too.

It seems as if you will not be able to carry weapons into the casinos openly without risking the entire casino becoming hostile toward you. Thankfully, there are a number of conceivable weapons, like switchblades and brass knuckles, which you can sneak in with you anyway. Once inside, you will be able to gamble–and gambling is slightly affected by your luck stat. You cannot, however, win an infinite number of caps, since ‘breaking the bank’ is possible. Moreover, Obsidian has made it clear that they will be programming some mysterious “inconvenience” which discourages players from saving before gambling, and simply reloading when they lose too much money. And once you’re done trying your luck at the slots, your weapons will be returned to you on the way out of the casino.

Named weapons will be making a return, but these weapons cannot be modified. There are also a bevy of new weapons, like the following: “Anti-Material Rifle, a Lever-Action Shotgun, some C-4 Plastic Explosives with Detonator, a 9 Iron golf club, a Bladed Gauntlet, a Multiplas Rifle, a Plasma Caster, a Trail Carbine, a Light Machine Gun, and the infamous Grenade Launcher.” Melee weapons will now have “special attacks,” too, but these aren’t specified or detailed.

Lastly, there will be a total of 9 companions available for you during your journey, one of which is a sniper called “Boone.”

Gamebanshee has an interview with Chris Avellone, Senior designer at Obsidian working on Fallout: New Vegas, which you can read in full here. In it, we learn some new things about New Vegas–details which we bring to you, as per usual.

First, the time-frame: New Vegas takes place 40 years after Fallout 2, and 4 years after Fallout 3. No mention as to why they picked this time-frame, though. It also sounds as if New Vegas will have cameos and nods which refer to the first two games, “If you have played Fallout 1 and 2, there are things that you will hear and see that you’ll recognize from previous games and draw a connection to.” Lastly, Chris reveals that skills outside of speech will influence what you can say in a conversation–which makes sense. “You can do a lot more with skills you wouldn’t expect, notably in conversations. In my opinion, some of the best conversation options you get in the game are Barter ones, when you start using economic arguments to solve quests or convince people of the wisdom of your choices. You should see an almost immediate use for all your skills in Goodsprings and onwards, it was a design mandate.” Sounds fantastic!

Here it is, boys and girls, the first “details” that Interplay has sent out to those of you that signed up for their newsletter/beta for their upcoming MMO, Fallout Online. Haven’t gotten an email yet? Don’t fret, they probably haven’t gotten to you yet. As you might imagine, they probably got an enormous response, definitely bigger than they were anticipating. I mean, their sign-up page was down for days. Anyway, take a gander at the mysterious newsletter here:

But what does it mean? Beats me. That was a whole lot of ‘WTF’ in just a couple of pictures. I suppose we can infer that the game will have Brahmin, Radscorpions, Super Mutants (supes), and ghouls, if anything. As for the first picture, that’s some concept art that Interplay has released, the rest of which you can see here.

Update: Interplay has posted a press release announcing the newsletter itself, which they describe as follows: “Mutants and non-mutants who registered at the FALLOUT® ONLINE site are starting to receive tales from the wastelands. Interested players who sign up are on the fast-track for beta-testing and get the added bonus of a free subscription to the pre-release electronic newsletter. (No additional flora will be harmed by the production of this newsletter.) Subscribers may end their participation at any time, again without cost or additional fees. We are just that kind and giving.”

No More Mutants has a quote from Interplay’s Chris Taylor, who says the newsletter might take a few days to get to everyone: “The first newsletter is on its way out. The emails are going out in alphabetical order and it will take a little while to email everyone. Check your spam filter if you don’t see anything in the next three days or so. (Yes, it will take three days to get all the emails out.)”